Mr. Niall Gibbons:

The picture regarding access is very positive overall. Every single week this summer, 591,000 seats were available from all destinations. To put this in perspective, in the summer of 2010 the number was 424,000. We have approximately 170,000 more seats every week. We are very pleased with the progress Aer Lingus has made, particularly on transatlantic flights, in terms of opening new routes and expanding existing routes. I was with Ryanair this morning announcing its summer schedule for 2019, which will see further expansion next year. It is a particularly good story.

With regard to China and Hong Kong, the route operated by Cathy Pacific is performing very well. I met its representative here yesterday and I attended the Irish Hong Kong business forum. There certainly is a large increase in the amount of trade and tourism now flowing. The advantage with Hong Kong is that it is English-speaking and there is no visa requirement. These are real added advantages. We face much bigger challenges in China because we really are painting on a blank canvas. The Ireland brand is not well known so we have an awareness issue. We also have a visa regime. We are working with the Department of Justice and Equality to try to improve the visa regime vis-à-visour competitors. For example, someone from China who chooses to go to Europe will get a Schengen visa, which will give them travel rights in 25 different countries at the same price as a visa for Ireland. We really want to try to improve with regard to these challenges. We are delighted to have air access from Beijing.

In the context of Terminal 2, we have a very good working relationship with all of the airports. Terminal 2 has really proved its worth, particularly for visitors from North America. We maintain a very close working relationship with the airport in Knock, which, I accept, is a vital gateway for the west of Ireland.

Airbnb has grown in significance over the past number of years. It is a very small percentage of overall business. Recently we subscribed to a site called AirDNA. A significant number of properties are available on Airbnb, particularly in rural Ireland. The data suggest more Airbnb beds than hotel beds are available in places such as Cork and Galway. This has acted as a safety valve in our industry given the increase in air traffic and the number of people travelling. We can see the impact demand has on hotel prices in Dublin, where nothing has been built for six or seven years.

There is no doubt that all of the new attractions that have come on stream have really added to the tourism experience. I congratulate the people involved with Titanic Belfast. It was not there eight years ago and it welcomed 850,000 visitors last year. The work they have done with Tourism Ireland abroad has been absolutely terrific. I went to Tayto Park with my family last year. It is also very good.